The beauty and cost of worship

John 12.3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

The example of worship demonstrated by Mary here teaches us both the beauty and the cost of true worship. It is estimated that the container of ointment that Mary emptied to anoint Jesus feet was worth about a year’s wages, a large sum. That would be like giving a year’s wages to your local church next Sunday!

But the worship of God is far more than financial, isn’t it? Finances are indeed a part of worship, but God wants far more than our wallets; He is looking for our heart. All of our heart.

In Romans 12:1,2 we read, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Worship is a lifestyle that is committed to the will and purposes of God. It is a life of self denial and sacrifice. But it is also a life of great joy and blessing. In the world, you live and then you die. In the kingdom of God, you die before you live. Jesus is our example of this.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

Christ’s death on the cross resulted in the giving of life to those who trust in Him. And what will be the response of those who trust in Jesus? “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”

When we come to Christ, we die. But when we die, we live. The beauty of that “costly” way of living is that we will be with The Lord forever. Jim Elliott said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”